1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to desk accessories and, more particularly, to a new dispenser for dispensing note sheets that are releasably adhered to one another in a stack and on alternate opposite edges thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
The present invention relates to an improved refillable dispenser for dispensing sheets from a note pad in which a repositionable pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on each successive sheet in the pad is disposed along alternate opposite sides of the pad in a fan fold or accordion-like fashion.
One of the first known dispensers intended for this purpose is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,392, issued on Nov. 22, 1983. Disclosed therein is a dispenser comprised of a box having a slot centrally disposed in the top of the box and parallel to the edges of the sheets coated with adhesive. An alternative embodiment is disclosed comprising a base and a removable cover for supporting a stack of adhesive sheets therebetween, and further including a spring member between the base and the bottom of the sheets to urge the sheets towards an opening provided in the removable cover. The slots of both disclosed dispensers have sharp edges which tend to cause the sheets to develop a curl when pulled past these edges.
A later dispenser, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,666, comprises a box member which fits about a stack of sheets and has a centrally disposed opening parallel to the edges coated with adhesive. As before, a spring member is used to urge the sheets towards the opening. Extending from the top wall of the box and into the opening are flexible flaps that define an arcuate wall on which the sheets are pulled over as they are dispensed. Thus, this dispenser avoided the development of curl in the sheets. However, this dispenser lacks certain advantages. Specifically, it is not refillable and is not suitable for one-handed desk top operation because of its light weight.
Subsequently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,781 discloses a dispenser that combines the benefits of providing an arcuate wall along the interior edges of the slot parallel to the adhesive edges of the sheets to reduce curl, along with adequate weight to provide one-handed desk top operation. The dispenser disclosed therein is a two-piece dispenser comprised of a base for supporting a pad of note sheets and a weighted body having a slot with arcuate side walls centrally located therein. The weighted member allows for one-handed operation by preventing the entire dispenser from being unduly subject to movement during a dispensing operation. The weighted member also serves to slightly restrain the adhesive edges of the sheets so that the resistance to pull tends to individually separate the sheets during a dispensing operation.
Although the dispenser disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,781 constituted an advancement in the art, it created other disadvantages. In particular, if the user attempts to dispense a note sheet with excessive force, the slotted body member may be separated from the base, requiring a subsequent reloading operation and possibly damaging the surface on which the dispenser rests. In addition, the base and body member may separate if the dispenser is carelessly lifted or moved about the desk by a user. Finally, because the body member rests directly on top of the pad of note sheets, the vertical height of the dispenser changes as the height of the pad changes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,127, a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,781 described above, discloses additional embodiments of two-piece dispensers. However, each of the additional embodiments suffers from the same infirmities. Specifically, the upper weighted body members may be separated from the base upon careless handling of the dispenser or from enthusiastic dispensing of sheets.
The present invention provides a dispenser for adhesive-coated accordion-like note sheets that does not leave a curl in the paper, is of sufficient weight for one-handed operation, does not change height externally as the height of the pad of note sheets decreases, and is refillable, yet not generally subject to accidental component separation from careless handling or spirited dispensing.